Pump system



@ch 2S 1924. 11,513,7@5

O.HAENTJENS PUMP SYSTEM Filed July 14 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 O ff) INVENTOR OTTO. HHf/VTJ'E N5 ATToRNEv o. HAENTJENS PUMP SYSTEM Filed July 14, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 v BY JM 'lNvENToR ATrORNEYs Um. 28 1924.-v

O. HAENTJENS PUMP SYSTEM 3 sheets-sheet Filed July 14 INVENTOR O fro HHf/vrJ-E/vs BY jm E ATTORNEYS Patented ct. 28, 124i.

' vunitn stars taaie 'rana c.

o'r'ro HAENTJENS, or HAzLEToN, ,PENNSYLVANIA PUMP SYSTEM.

Application led July 14, 1923. Serial No. 651,583. i

To all whom it may concern.;

Be it known that l, O'r'ro HAENTJENS, a citizen of the German Republic, residing at Hazleton, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lmprovementsin Pump Systems, of which the following is a speciic'ation.

My invention relates to pump systems, and particularly to systems employing a main pump, e. g., one .of the centrifugal type, and an associated priming pump.`

Among the objects of my invention may be mentioned- (1) The provision of a float device in the connection between the pumps, which device, when the main pump has been primed, operates a switch in a control circuit governing a switch in the power line of the main pump motor, and thus starts the latter in operation.

(2) The control of the float device in such manner that the iioat switch is main` tained closed until the main pump is Asufficiently underway to establish automatically 'an auxiliary control circuit shunting the floatswitch.v f

(3) The automatic opening of the float switch after the shunt circuit has been established.

v(4) The automatic opening of the circuit of the priming pump 'motor when the main pump is suiiiciently underway.

(5) The association with the vfloat devicel of a vacuum breaker valve and a check Valve of the type indicated in my Patent No. 1,445,507, and particularly their operation in properly timed relation to the operation of the switch.

(6) Certain features ofstructural novelty and advantage hereinafter described or shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic illustrationv of a pumping system in whichmy invention is embodied in one form; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the float device drawn to a larger. scale;

Fig.l 3 is a section on theline 3 3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a broken view of the float device; A

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through a modified constructionandr Fig. 6 is a diagram of the control circuits.

In order that the invention may be properly understood, explanation must be made 'of the general pump system with which it is related. The layout illustrated in. Fig. 1 is of a type advantageously employed for 'draining mines and the like, in which the water to be pumped is collected in a sump 15. Into the latter dips an intake pipe 16 leading to the main pump 417, here vindicated as a battery of centrifugals,` driven by an electric motor 18. In order to prime the centrifugals )the water is sucked from the sump into their runner chambers by an independent priming pump 19, driven by an electric motor 20 and connected by a suction line 21, 22 and 23 to ports at the top of the runner chambers. Arranged in the priming suctlon line between the sectlons 21 and 22 thereof is the float device 24 to which more particular reference will be hereinafter made.

The system indicated is of the automatic type in which the circuits are automatically controlled. Thus. in the sump 15 is a float 25 which, through the rod 26` and spaced lugs 27 thereon, or other suitable connection,

operates a` switch 28 to close or open a cir-' cuit 29 when the water in the sump reaches a predetermined high or low level. ln the circuit 29 is a solen0id30, .which operates Va switch PM in the power circuit I. of the priming' pump motor 20 and thus starts the priming pump in operation. A normally closed contactor 32 is also arranged in this control circuit 29. The s'olenoids 31 arranged in a shunt in the priming pump power circuit (or if preferred in motor control circuit'29) open valves controlling ports in the runner casings which lead to the suc.- tion line 23, 22, 21 of the priming pump.

- A" second control circuit 33, which in-v cludes the solenoid S for" operating the switch lCM in the power circuit H of the centrifugal pump motor 18, is closed by the m0 switch 34 of the iioatdevice v24 when the centrifugal has been primed by the pump 19. The vcentrifugal is thus set in motion.

Associated with the centrifugal are automatic 'suction' and pressure regulators' 35 and 36. The suction or vacuum regulator 35 is'connected by pipe 37 to thesump pipe 16l and registers the suction eEort exerted therein by the centrifugal. t 'has an associated switch 38 which is normally closed, but opens when the `suctioneortbecomes circuit 33.

vcentrifugal approximates normal.

too great, incident, for example, to a blocked strainer at the foot of the suction line 16. rlthe pressure regulator 36 is connected by the pipe 39 with the runner chamber of one of thev centrifug'als, and registers the pressure exerted thereby. lits associated switch 40 tends automatically to open, and it closes only when the discharge pressure of the These switches are arranged in a circuit 41 shunting the float switch 34 in the second control The shunt circuit 41 around the float switch 34 is thus closed only when the pressure regulator switch 40 is closed. ltnasmuch as there is some lapse of time-from 10 to 15 seconds-before the centrifugal develops sufficient pressure to close switch 40, it is necessary to maintain switch 34 closed during this interval.

rllurning to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the Float device 24 comprises a float chamber 42 to which the suction pipe 22, incoming from the centrifugal pump 17, opens through a riser 43. rlthe check valve 44 governing the port 45 at the foot of the riser, is actuated through the rod 46 connected to the arm 47 of the float 48 p ivoted at 49. rllhe pipe 21 leading to the priming pump 19 opens to the top of the float chamber through a passageV 50, the opening from which to the ioat chamber 42 is well above the water level therein, and thus serves to prevent flow of water to the priming pump 19. One or more restricted openings 51 pierce the foot of the riser 43 and permit slow drainage of the pocket of the float chamber -below thetop level of the riser 43. y

A. vacuum breaker valve 52 controlling a port- 53 in the top of the float chamber is operated by a rod 54 connected with lost motion to the float lever 47 by pin and slot s engagement 55.

Keyed to thepivot pin 49 of the float lever is a switch-operating lever 56, which, through a link and lever system 57, 58, 59 and 60, operates the switch 34 housed within a casing 61 supported upon the cover of the float` device casting 24. t

Tlievacuum breaker per se will be understood by reference to my Patent No. 1,445,509. lts modiication. for utility in the present system will be understood from the following description.

When the water in the sump 15. rises to predetermined level, the float 25 rising therewith closes the switch 28, thus completing the control circuit 29 through the solenoid 30 which closes the switch PM.

in the circuit of the priming pump motor 20. The valve solenoids 31 are now energized and open the ports in the runner chambers of the centrifugals. When the priming pump, now set in motion, has performed its function, that is to say, when the centrifugals 17 are primed and the water has risen through. the line 23, 22V to the float chamber 24, the float 48 and its lever 47 rise. `As the float rises it successively operates, first, the switch 34, second, the vacuum breaker valve 52, and third, the check valve 44. Upon the closing of the switch 34 the second control circuit 33 is completed and the solenoid S- tlierein closes the motor starting switch CM in the circuit of the centrifugal lpump motor 18.

inasmuch as the priming pump is no longer needed, its circuit is automatically interrupted in any suitable way, for example, by the lever of the Vswitch CM, the toe of which, as it reaches full current on7 position, kicks open the contactor 32, thus opening the control circuit 29 and deenergizing the solenoid 30 which permits the switch PM of the priming motor to automatically open under the pull of itsspring. rlhe priming pump thus halts while the centrifugal picks up speed.

As the centrifugal 17 comes to speed, the pressure of the delivery therefrom rises to approximately normal and the switch 40 in shunt 41 of thesecond control circuit 33, is closed. Consequently, until `the vacuum breaker' switch 34 opens, incidental to the draining of the float chamber 24, and the fall of the float 48, the current flows in parallel through the float switch 34 and thel shunt 41. Upon the automatic opening of the switch 34 by the fall'of the float 48, the current flows wholly through the shunt 41 in which the vacuum regulator and pressure regulator switches 38 and 40 are arranged.

:llt will be obvious from the foregoing that it is necessary, in order to maintain the second control circuit during the period of acceleration of the centrifugal 17 that the vacuum breaker switch 34 be maintained closed during this period. since it is not until the delivery pressure of the centrifugal reaches substantially normal that the shunt 41 is closed at the pressure regulato'l` switch 40. llenee the necessity that the drainage of the float chamber be slow in order to delay the fall of the float 48 and thus to retard the opening of the switch 34. It is for this reason that the admission to the float chamber 2t is through the riser 43. and thatthe discharge from the pocket in the lower portion of the float chamber is effected through the small drainage holes 51. ln other words. the drainage of the float chamber pocket is so slow through the. port 51 that the fall of the float lever 47 is sufficiently retarded to maintain the switch 34 closed until the centrifugal 17 comes to speed and fully establishes the shunt circuit 41 at switch 40.

llt will be further obvious that if, after float switch 34 opens, there should be some obstruction .in the pump line-such as a clogged. screen at the foot of the intake pipe 1li-thc second control circuit, now passing through shunt circuit 41,*will open at the switch 38, or at the switch 40, whereupon, the Solenoid S becoming deenergized, the centrifugal motor sWitch'CM automatically opens and-halts the drive of thecentrifugal. As the switch lever CM moves to oil pov siton, the contactor 32 in the first control circuit 29 `automatically returns to closed circuit position. If the sump switch 28 is still closed, by reason of the fact that the level ofthe water in the sump is still suiiicently high, the priming pump will again be set in motion andthe cycle of operations repeated until'the centrifugal is again in operation. If the pump line of the centrifugal. is not cleared, the centrifugal motor will be again automatically halted and the cycle repeated until the attendant becomes aware of the clogging of the line and takes steps to remedy the diiliculty.

'In the system shown in Fig. 1 the circuit of the centrifugal motor is opened through the automatic regulator switch 38,l which opens control circuit 33 and deenergizes solenoid S when the water level in the sump 15 falls to a predetermined level vfor which the switch 38 isadjusted. lf the switch 38 should fail to operate, and the water level l should fall below the mouth of the suction pipe 16, then the pressure regulator switch ,40 would .function to open the control circuitJ and deenergize the solenoid S, with the same result.

Another way of securing the same result is accomplished if the sump switch 28 be` of the duplex type, as indicated in Fig. 6e one switch bar 28() being arranged in the priming pump control circuit 29 and the other blade 281 in the centrifugal pump control circuit 33. ln this case both control circuits 29 and 33 are opened vby the sump switch when the water in the sump falls below a predetermined level. course the most desirable type of construction, but certain mine workings are shallow and extend over a large area, so that when A the sump is pumped down the water recedes from the pump house and long suction lines 16 are required. Where such conditions eX-' ist, the sump switch can be used for starting only, as in Fig. 1, andthe vacuum switch 38 must be depended upon for stopping.

, 1t will be noted that in Fig. 6 have indicated the valve solenoids arranged in the control circuit .2Q-#the possibility above referred to.

The drainage of the float chamber V2li following the o enin of the vacuum breaker valve 52, may be accomplished in any de- |This is of y but automatically opens when the priming pump is halted.

It will be understood that the switches are but diagrammatically shown and that any appropriate types maybe used. For example, the float switch 34 may be of the type shown in Fig. 5, comprising but a single pair of cooperating contact arms 64 and 65,

`the latter yielding against the action of the spring 66 when lifted by the contact arm 64 which is connected by link 67 to the float lever. n Y

4Various modifications in detail of construction and arrangement of parts will readily occur to those dealing with the problem which do not depart from what I claim as my invention.

1. A pump system comprising a centri'fugal pump, an electric motor for driving the same, a prfming pumpconnected to the centrifugal pump, a float chamber arranged-in said connection, and a float-operated switch controlling the energization of the centrifugal pump motor, a normally open shunt around the float switch, and means for closing said shunt circuit when the centrifugal pump is in operation.

` 2. A pump system comprising a centrifugal pump,'an electric motor for driving the same, a priming pump connected to the centrifugal pump, a float chamber arranged in said connection, and a float-operated switch controlling the energization 'of the centrifugal pump motor, a normally open shunt around the float switchfand means for closing said shunt circuit when the centrifugal pump. is in operation, together with means delaying the opening of the float switch by the fall of the oat until the centrifugal pump is in operation.

3. A. pump system comprlsing a centrifugal pump, van electric motor for driving the same, a priming pump connected to the centrifugal pump, a priming pump electric motor, a float chamber arranged in the connection between the priming and'centrifugal pumps, and a normally open float switch controlling the circuit through the centrifugal pump motorftogether with means'for cutting out the priming pump motor on the l closing of the circuit through the centrifugal. pump motor by the float switch, and means for delaying the fallof the float and the consequent opening of. the float switch during the acceleration of the centrifugal ump., 1. A pump system comprising a main pump and a priming pump, an electric motor for the main pump, a float chamber in the connection between the priming pump and the main pump, a float-operated switch l controlling the circuit of the main pump motor, and means for delaying the drainage of the oat chamber to maintain the ugal pump, an electric motor for driving the same, a priming pump connected to the centrifugal pump,l a priming pump electric motor, a float chaniber arranged in the conv nection between the priming and centrifugal pumps. and a normally open float switch controlling the circuit through the centrifugal pump motor, together with means for l cutting out the priming pump motor on the closing of the circuit through the centrifugal pump. motor by the float switch, and means for delaying the tall of the ioat and the consequent opening ot the float switch during the acceleration of the centrifugal pump, together with a normally open shunt around the iioat switch in the motor-control circuit for the main pump, and means governed by the pressure exerted by the main pump for closing said shunt.

6. ln a pump system, a main pump anda priming pump therefor, a float device in the connection between said priming and main pumps, and means associated with the float device for operating in sequence, Virstl a switch controlling the main pump motor, second an air relief valve :for the priming pump, and third a check valve in the suction connection.

7. ln a pump system,^a main pump and a piiming pump therefor, a float chamber in the. connection therebetween, an inlet riser opening to the oat chamber above its bottom for the admission of water from the main'pump thereto, a drainage outlet and a integree' restricated port opening to said outlet to insure the slow tall oit the water below the level ot said inlet riser.

8. lin a pump system, a main pump and a priming pump therefor, a tloat chamber in the connection therebetween, an inlet riser opening to the oat chamber above its bottom 'for the admission of water trom the main pump thereto, a drainage outlet and a restricted port opening to said outlet to insure the slow tall et the water below the level ot said inlet riser, together with a switch operated bythe l'loat.

9. -lln a pump system, a main pump anda priming pump therefor, a float chamber in the connection therebetween, an inlet riser opening to the loat chamber above its bottom for the admission of Water from the main pump thereto, a drainage outlet and a restricted port opening to said outlet to insure the slow tall vof the water below the level of said inlet riser, together with a suotion passage opening to the tloat chamber above the level of said riser.

10. ln a pump system, amain pump and a priming pump therefor, a float chamber in the connection therebetween,inlet and outlet ports opening to the chamber, a checlr valve associated with'the inlet port, an air relief valve vand port opening to the cham-v ber between said inlet and outlet ports, a switch, and a oat operatively associated with said check and relieit valves and switch.

lin testimony whereof ll have signed my name to this specification.

OTT@ HAENTJENS. 

